IT is located on one of the four original streets in Glasgow and welcomed its first customers in 1792.
As Glasgow's oldest surviving pub it is has welcomed clientele from sailors to merchants and was also one of the venues where Sir Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty first performed.
Now the Scotia Bar in Stockwell Street is celebrating its 230th birthday with a celebration weekend to mark the milestone anniversary.
Read more: UK first as Glasgow museums sign repatriation agreement for Indian artefacts
It was established when the Clyde was a thriving waterway, and the pub’s regulars consisted of sailors and merchants.
In more recent times, the Scotia Bar, now owned by Belhaven, became known for its arts scene, as the hub of Glasgow's 1960s and 1970s folk revival and it hosted many poets, writers and actors during this period, including Connolly and Rafferty.
In its early years it was popular with workers and seamen from the docks and shipyards along the Clyde, and passengers on the busy ferries that stopped nearby.
In 1862 it acquired a new neighbour when the Scotia Music Hall, later the Metropole, opened its doors, and the bar was frequented by both performers and audiences. Despite its popularity, the inn closed in 1906.
In 1929 the Scotia reopened under new management, refurbished in a mock-Tudor style. The 1960s and early 1970s saw the Scotia become a haven for writers, folk singers and socialist political groups. It closed its doors for a period in the 1970s before reopening once again in 1987 and re-established its reputation as a meeting place for those with an interest in music, literature and politics, as well as food and drink.
To celebrate the major birthday, the Scotia Bar will be holding a special weekend event at the pub, starting on Friday and with live music on Saturday beginning at 2pm. A charity raffle will also take place on Saturday night, with proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support, with prizes including guitars, overnight hotel stays.
Vicky Clark, the General Manager at the Scotia Bar said: “We are so excited to be celebrating the Scotia Bar’s 230th birthday this month and we are thrilled to be able to work in such an important piece of history. The team are looking forward to welcoming our regular guests and new ones who want to celebrate the pub’s birthday with us.”
The Scotia Bar has also teamed up with Scottish whisky distillery Glen Scotia for a sampling session at 3pm on Saturday 27. Guests will have the opportunity to try drams from the Campbeltown-based distillery, which currently holds the title of Whisky Distillery of the Year from the Scottish Whisky Awards.
Iain McAlister, Master Distiller at Glen Scotia, said: “Like Glen Scotia, the Scotia bar has a remarkable history to be very proud of, so we’re delighted to be joining up for this special occasion. Congratulations to all who have made the bar such a great success over the years, we’re looking forward to celebrating – with the finest drams and beers – later this month.”
Read more: Sir Billy Connolly reveals his favourite roll filling - do you agree with him?
For many the years the now lamented Old College Bar in High Street lay claim to being Glasgow's oldest bar. However, the former owner of the bar, which was demolished after a fire ripped through buildings it was connected to in 2021, said the history of Glasgow's oldest pub may have just been a myth drummed up to boost trade.
A plaque on the exterior of The Old College Bar read it's "Glasgow's oldest public house (built circa 1515) Ancient staging post and hostelry".
Former owner Colin Beatie, however, revealed that it may only have dated back to the 1800s adding the supposedly "medieval" foundations it rested on were nothing more than the cobblestones of a Victorian railway yard.
Scotland's oldest pub is said to be The Sheep Heid Inn, in Duddingston, Edinburgh. It is believed to have been the site of a hostelry since the 1360s. However, the current building is only 300 or so years old.
It is believed the bar here has been propped up by no less than two queens spanning across four centuries, the first, Mary Queen of Scots, and the second, Queen Elizabeth.
Why are you making commenting on HeraldScotland only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel